Đurđevac Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The Đurđevac Jewish cemetery was built in 1860 yet the property was nationalized in 1958. During the 1960s and 1970s, the local Municipality and the Society for the Beautification of Places organized for the exhumation of the Jewish graves. The graves were moved to the local municipal cemetery. A memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in the form of a tomb was erected at the city cemetery. The inscription of the memorial states: “The remnants of the Jewish cemetery in Djurdjevac were buried at this place. In memory of fallen fighters and victims of Fascism.” In 2009, there were only two tombstones remaining on the site of the Jewish cemetery. On one of them, the carved blessing of Cohanim, was still visible. A Roma settlement is situated in the place of the former Jewish cemetery today.
Đurđevac is a town in the Koprivnica-Križevci County. It was first mentioned in 1267. During the 14th century, a fortress was built and in the 15th century, Đurđevac was known as both a town and fairground. During that time, that town was the site of numerous battles among nobility. In 1552, the entire region suffered from the Turkish invasion, yet the Ottoman army failed to capture the town’s fortress.
From the 16th to 18th centuries, Đurđevac was a border town and army units were stationed there. In the 19th century, the town and its surrounding area were famous for being the centers of agricultural production. In 1910, there were 8,707 inhabitants in the town, most of them Croats. There is little historical information about the Jewish population of Đurđevac. In 1931, there were 57 Jews and in 1941, only 20. The local Jews were the members of the Bjelovar Jewish community. The Jewish population of Đurđevac perished in the Holocaust. In 1947, there was only one Jew in Đurđevac . The building of the synagogue was sold in 1956. One of the most famous Jews born in Đurđevac was Boris Braun (1920 – 2018), a Zagreb University professor of agriculture and a Holocaust survivor. In 2005, Braun was named the Honorary Citizen of Đurđevac.
